Published by Outpost Wargame Services, The Coach House, 2 East Rossdhu Drive, Helensburgh, Argyll & Bute, G84 7ST, UK. Phone : +44(0)1436 673017 Fax : +44(0)1436 673017 Price: £9.99 + 15% postage and packing

What with a number of good new miniature ranges and the Arthurian novels by Bernard Cornwell, this Dark Ages period has gone through something of a resurgence in the past couple of years. Good news for those of us who like a bit of knowledge of a period without having to do all of our own research, is that Glutter of Ravens deals with Britain between 400AD and 700AD – the Age of Arthur.

Perhaps better known as a set of rules (more of that later), Glutter of Ravens best use is as a sourcebook– about 30 of the A4 pages are devoted to the organization, equipment, weapons, tactics, strategy and warrior code of the period – more detailed and up to date than Osprey's Arthur and the Anglo-Saxon Wars, and a good, useful read even if you have the Osprey title.

The author, Mr. D. S. Mersey, has certainly done his research on this period, and it really shows. As Glutter of Ravens in a wargamer's book, it does not go into too much detail on the history and archaeology of the period (the bibliography helps you here), but provides some really good details for painting tunics, shields, etc, and advice on what figures to select for armies of different periods.

Tactics are looked at in a lot of detail – researched from the few historical sources available, and archaeology (very important in this period in Britain) is used to its full potential. All in all a very concise, helpful package for the wargamer who wants his or her armies to look right and play in the right way.

There are five pages of color pictures at the back; these are okay in quality, but are actually very useful as painting guides. The bibliography is also usefully annotated, giving suggestions as to the best books and the ones to avoid.

The first half of the book comprises of a set of rules. These are pretty good, and nicely slanted to provide some Dark Ages flavor. They are a bit fiddly in places, and probably won't ever give Warhammer or DBM a serous threat to dominance, but they are a good set never the less – Guy Halsall recommended them in his series on Sub-Roman Britain in Wargames Illustrated. Advantages lie in the fact that you need only a few figures to play with, and only a small table to play on (DBA sized table and less figures). The rules are also flexible in using more figures on a larger table, and I have played them using my Foundry 28mm Britons and Saxons quite easily.

Each warband (which is a single 40 x 15/20/30 element as in the DBM rules) has its own characteristics (Strength, Aggression and Formation), which is useful in defining how good a warband actually is, much better for this period than a bland Medium Infantry, Heavy Infantry etc, which gets a bit 'samey' for Dark Ages battles. This allows you to craft your own armies as you wish; also the way in which armies begin the game at minimum Formation and Aggression and have to be motivated.

Glutter of Ravens isn't as glossy as Warhammer's Fall of the West, but by 'normal' wargamers standards, it is very well produced – the rules have diagrams, and there are five pages of color pictures. As a whole entirety, the book combines a decent set of rules with perhaps the best level of background information usable by gamers for the Arthurian period in Britain.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the period, and to anyone wanting to see the best way to present rules and background details in a solid, accessible package – the ideal starter set to go with a few packs of Foundry or Gripping Beast figures.